Tsunami: Hope in the Midst of Disaster

History Repeating . . . Disaster-Related Intercountry Adoption and the Psychosocial Care of Children

“…Contemporary understandings of good practice post-disaster has moved from Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD) that seeks to prevent Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in individuals whose assumptions about a safe world have been shattered to a more holistic, contextualised model of psychosocial care that 'views emotional reactions to disaster as normal reactions to an abnormal event' rather than psychopathology (Becker, 2009: 654). Inclusion of cultural differences and knowledge of local communities, particularly in relation to power and resources, are essential in disaster response, although indigenous ways of healing and managing disaster are seldom considered (Crosby and Grodin, 2007;Thirumurthy et al, 2008). Western biomedical perspectives may be irrelevant or inappropriate in cultural contexts where beliefs about life events and how to address them may differ (Hobfoll et al, 2007;Tribe, Patricia Fronek and Denise Cuthbert 2007).…”

“…Western biomedical perspectives may be irrelevant or inappropriate in cultural contexts where beliefs about life events and how to address them may differ (Hobfoll et al ., 2007; Tribe, 2007). Inclusion of cultural differences and knowledge of local communities, particularly in relation to power and resources, are essential in disaster response, although indigenous ways of healing and managing disaster are seldom considered (Crosby and Grodin, 2007; Thirumurthy et al ., 2008). Pack-Patton (2010) found that cultural sensitivity is more important than formal training in disaster intervention.…”